Holman has missed the majority of the season with a knee injury suffered in round one.

However, the classy defender made his return to the side a fortnight ago and will play his third match in-a-row this weekend against Henty.

Bulldogs coach Andrew Wilson said Holman's poise and experience should prove invaluable during the finals series.

They will meet Brock-Burrum in a cut-throat elimination final next weekend.

In a further bonus Albury recruit Alex Rowe returned from injury for his first match since round 11 last weekend and will also bolster the Bulldogs' defence.

"Kris has been pulling up fairly sore after matches as you would expect," Wilson said.

"I think he missed 18 weeks in total if you throw a few byes in there as well.

"So obviously he is lacking a bit of match fitness but is getting better each week.

"While he might be a bit underdone physically, there is no substitute for his footy smarts and ball use.

"He has still been working hard off the track to get his body right, so he has got a solid fitness base, just not match fitness.

"I expect him to be massive in the finals when the blowtorch is applied with his experience in big matches.

"Players like Kris who can keep calm under pressure and have good skills and make good decisions are priceless."

After a slower than expected start to the season the Bulldogs were widely tipped to be the big improvers in the second-half of the year and start charging up the ladder.

However, key injuries have prevented the Bulldogs from producing their best football.

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Wilson conceded his side has struggled to find the sort of form that will stack-up throughout the finals series.

"Our form hasn't been great in the second half of the season," he said.

"But last weekend we finally had pretty much a full-list to choose from.

"That's been the biggest challenge throughout the season, making three to five changes on a weekly basis.

"Getting Alex (Rowe) and Ryan Speed back last week made a big difference alongside Holman.

"Hopefully we can stay injury free for the remainder of the season."

Wilson revealed he may be forced to make several changes at selection on Thursday night.

"Ideally we would have liked to go in unchanged on the weekend but I don't think that's going to happen," he said.

"Even though we are guaranteed a finals spot we won't be waving the white flag and want to build some momentum."

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